HISTORY

Tony takes in the wonderful seascapes of the North Norfolk coast, determined to discover how the area remained so blissfully unchanged when the Victorian age of industry and railways transformed lives and landscapes across the country. From the arrival of Bertie, Prince of Wales at Sandringham House to the opening of Cromer pier, Tony’s four day walk unveils an extraordinary tale of landowning power.

From just north of the Scottish border, Tony Robinson sets off across the ancient kingdom of Northumbria which in the 7th century stretched from Edinburgh to York, on the trail of the truth about St Cuthbert, the greatest saint of his time.

The Liverpool-Leeds canal is the longest single man-made waterway in the country; Tony travels the first 50 miles from Liverpool to the iconic Pier at Wigan, uncovering the extraordinary stories from its Georgian and Victorian origins.

Tony Robinson takes a 45 mile hike through the beautiful countryside of the Weald in Kent and East Sussex to discover its rich and surprising Tudor heritage.

From the impressively preserved Penshurst Place, where author Philippa Gregory helps Tony relish the fate of the grand Duke of Buckingham at the hands of the young Henry the Eighth, he travels up what used to be secret paths to Hever Castle.

Henry’s saucy courting of the Boleyn girls at Hever comes as perhaps no surprise. But Tony travels on to find out how Henry VIII’s reign brought not just fame and disaster to the women who caught his eye but also wrought huge social, political, and industrial change to the country and especially this area.

Before finishing in the town of Lewes where he can relive one of the more brutal monastic dissolutions, Tony will have uncovered treason in Henry’s court, discovered how the Weald’s iron ore deposits made it the industrial heart of Tudor England and he’ll have seen the ruthless extent of one man’s ambition – Thomas Cromwell.

Tony heads off on a 40 mile walk through the glorious Peak District and along the Derwent Valley. The landscape here is incredible; wild, dramatic and romantic. But it’s also the place where one of the most extraordinary chapters in British history unfolded; the Derwent Valley is the place where the Industrial Revolution began. This is a journey that reveals how Britain transformed itself from a nation of farmers into the industrial powerhouse of the world. Richard Arkwright established the world’s first factory in the quiet Peaks village of Cromford. Nearby is the building that would lay the foundations for today’s skyscrapers.

Brian Blessed introduces Tony to the joys – and the huge significance – of the local Cromford canal. Later he climbs to the heights of the Peaks, drawn by the chance to operate a huge steam winding engine that’s been working in the same place since 1829. He ends his incredible journey through economic time in Derby; the railway town’s secret crown jewel is the world’s first Engine Roundhouse, built in 1839 and now restored to its former glory.

This week, Tony’s walk takes him back to 1940 when extraordinarily, the sleepy county of Dorset became the frontline in the war against Hitler. His five day 60 mile walk along the Jurassic coast reveals the county’s hidden World War II story.

Starting by the defences on Chesil Beach (still standing 70 years on), Tony’s journey encompasses stunning scenery and amazing acts of ingenuity and bravery as he heads east to finish in Swanage and Studland Bay.

He uncovers the strange part a world famous swannery played in developing a secret weapon. He hears of the bravery of the man who won the Victoria Cross serving in Portland Harbour when it became one of the very first places in Britain to be bombed by the Germans. He reveals the role Dorset had to play in protecting Britain from invasion, and in an emotional climax he meets one of the veterans who survived after landing on Omaha Beach on D Day.